The present invention relates generally to the animal trapping art, and particularly to a setting tool for use with animal traps having spring-loaded jaws.
Conventional animal traps of the double coil-spring type have a pair of jaws pivoted to a base frame and which are set for action or locked in an open set position by engaging a pivoted latch bar with a trigger bar carried on a trip plate or pan. When sprung or released by an animal, the double coil springs act on jaw camming actuator levers, which snap the jaws upwardly to a closed position to ensnare and hold the animal. As known, the coil springs acting on the jaw levers are relatively strong to hold the trap jaws in closed, animal gripping position, and these springs are further loaded in depressing the jaw levers to enable the trap to be set. It should also be recognized that animal traps are made in a range of sizes for use in trapping different animals.
In the past trappers have traditionally set such animal traps by standing on or otherwise depressing the jaw levers to release their camming action and enable the jaws to be freely moved to their open set position with the latch bar extending over one jaw and thus being frictionally held under the trigger bar of the trip plate by the force of the springs acting upwardly through the jaw actuating levers on the jaws.
Although a number of trap setting tools have been designed for setting single and double coil spring traps, none has been satisfactory for various reasons. For instance, Lines U.S. Pat. No. 2,494,567 shows a trap setting tool
U-shaped wire frames to engage the trap jaw levers, which frames are pivotally carried on curved levers in turn pivoted at spaced points on depending legs carried by a base frame that underlies the trap, and the operating handles are connected to the curved levers inwardly of both pivot points. In the commercial form of the Lines '567 construction, a different setting tool is required for each size of animal trap, and operation thereof is difficult in orienting the base on a trap, applying the free swinging wire frame hoops over the jaw levers, and gripping the oppositely extending handles. Furthermore, the wire frames snag or hang up on the pivot points of the jaws in the base frame and interfere with the tool setting action.